BRIEFING NOTE September 2012

MINERAL EXTRACTION IN THE TAIMYR PENINSULA

n the Taimyr Peninsula, the Norisk Nikel Company is extract- OJSC Norisk Nikel is a profitable, well known and respected Iing and processing precious minerals. It produces 35% of the company at home and abroad. But nothing is reportedly done to world’s Palladium, 25% of its platinum, 20% of its nickel and protect and respect the rights of the local indigenous communi- 10% of its cobalt. ties or to remedy their losses.

The Taimyr Peninsula was once the territory of large groups of indigenous peoples – the Evenkis, Nenets, Dolgans, Ngana- sans and the Ents, - now they remain only as “small numbered Environmental impact indigenous peoples”, some of them heading for extinction. To them, industrialisation has meant nothing but the loss of land, The Nadezhinsky Smelting Plant – the pride of the heavy pollution, depletion of natural resources and the destruc- Combine Plant - was commissioned in 1981. Its polluting emis- tion of their traditional livelihood which were once sustainable sions containing heavy metals have been found as far away as reindeer herding, hunting, and fishing. Canada, Finland, Sweden, and even Alaska, in the US. Today, the town of Norilsk is surrounded by a lunar landscape for tens OJSC Norilsky Nikel, formerly the Norilsk Combine Plant, began of kilometers; the dead tundra stretches for hundreds more. The operating in 1935 and has been exploiting the mineral resourc- smell of the Plant’s production activities is well-known to the in- es of Taimyr for 77 years. Specialists commonly recognize the digenous peoples of the Ust-Avam, Volochanka, Khantaiskoye mineral deposits of Norilsk as a unique global resource. Today, Ozero and Potapovo settlements, some of them hundreds of OJSC Norilsky Nikel is the leading company in the extraction kilometers from Norilsk. and processing of nonferrous metals, not only in but worldwide.

1 Pollutants emissions into the a huge loss for the northern atmosphere in 1986-1996 indigenous groups, who are fluctuated between 1,937 extremely small-numbered. million tons and 2,394 million According to the Russian tons. The list of standard- Census of 2010, for example, ized pollutants in 1986-1996 there are just 862 Nganasans grew from 18 to 31; sulphur and 227 Ents left. dioxide makes up the largest proportion (up to 98%). Solid The Norilsk Combine Plant sludge alone in all of the in- continued to grow as the in- dustrial emissions into the at- digenous peoples of Taimyr mosphere in 1996 amounted sustained further losses. to 26,678,000 tons. These In 1942, the Plant’s Nickel figures are easily said but be- Smelting Shop began pro- hind them lie the ruined lives of many people and a decimated duction, in 1949, the Plant’s wildlife. Copper Shop. It was then that the environmental tragedy of the Taimyr tundra and its indigenous peoples began. In Rosstat’s brochure “Russia in Figures – 2011”,1 Norilsk fig- ures as the most polluted Russian industrial town in 2010, with atmospheric emissions of nearly 2 million tons. While various rehabilitation and health programs are being implemented for Impact on Indigenous Fishermen the people of Norilsk, including the program for northerners’ re- location to the south funded by OJSC Norilsky Nikel, there is, Ever since the Combine Plant was first constructed, the main however, nothing similar for the indigenous peoples! transportation route to the plant has been via the Northern Sea Route, including the lower course of the Yenisei River. In 1978, disaster struck the indigenous peoples engaged in winter fishing on the Yenisei. It was then that year-round navigation started. Historic relations Powerful icebreaking vessels made their way through one-and- a-half meter thick ice, often right through fishing nets. Dozens of The first explorers of the mineral resources were in fact the an- people have died since then in the icy pass. Communication has cestors of today’s indigenous peoples of Taimyr. This has been broken down between the people living on the different banks of confirmed by archaeologists who have discovered the dwelling the river. The reindeer herders, who have traditionally brought sites of Bronze Age people near Lake Pyasino, along with primi- their reindeer to the left bank of the Yenisei, now go less often tive smelting and casting equipment. to visit their children in the settlements’ boarding schools on the right bank. Norilsk ore can be found at the site of the medieval town of Mangezey on the Taz River, in the territory of today’s Yamalo- In December 2011, a powerful icebreaking vessel, the Talnah, Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Obviously, the indigenous Ents, belonging to OJSC Norilsky Nikel, passed along the water pas- Nenets, Nganasans and Dolgans living in this area extracted sage and right through the several tons of frozen fish that was the ore and traded it for the goods they needed. The Taimyr being stocked on the ice nearby for shipment to Dudinka. The indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge of these rich metal damage amounted to 3 million roubles, US$100,000, and yet no deposits was later used by Russian merchants on arrival in compensation has been paid! the North. The indigenous peoples of Taimyr assisted not only by sharing their knowledge of the local areas but also their The year-round navigation has also brought with it another knowledge of the local climate, household, foods, clothing and problem. To ensure safe navigation, it was decided to use ra- footwear. They acted as guides and provided transportation on dioisotope thermoelectric generator (RITEGs) for vessel pilot- reindeer sledges, along with other assistance. In Soviet times, ing. Old men say the generators are installed along the pass this assistance became compulsory. Hundreds of indigenous on the river bottom. Whether this is true or not, we do not know. peoples’ representatives were relocated for purposes of forced This information is still confidential. Ever since, however, fisher- labor, during which most of them died. men have started catching half-boiled fish with their meat falling off the bones; also since then there have been more cases of The Norilsk Combine Plant’s success would not have been deaths from cancer. In the settlements along the Yenisei estu- possible without the Sovietization of Taimyr, which included the ary, drinking water is taken from the river and consumed without extermination of the strongest sector of the indigenous commu- any treatment whatsoever. nities: the local leaders – princes and shamans. The Remem- brance Book of Taimyr Repression includes over a hundred exe- The official sources state that RITEGs serve as sources of cuted Dolgans, Nenets, Evenks, Nganasans and Ents. This was electricity by using heat energy from radioactive decay; Stron-

2 tium-90 is used as RITEG fuel or, for high-capacity generators, The impact of gas development on Plutonium-238. Their lifespan is 10 to 30 years and, after that, indigenous reindeer herders they are supposed to undergo treatment. Nothing is as yet known in Taimyr about this treatment, however. In the 1960s, gas was required to operate the Norilsky Com- bine Plant and, in 1966, the Messoyakhinskoye gas condensate field came into operation, 250 kilometers from Norilsk. This is Power generation – for whom? the native land of the Taimyr Nenets. In the 1970s, two nuclear explosions were performed to provide underground gas stor- age facilities on their territory. We do not know how hazardous Khantai Evenkis living in the south of Taimyr have also suf- this has made the area; the Nenets were never warned of the fered from the Combine Plant’s activities. Construction of the consequences, and no radiation survey has been carried out Ust-Khantai Hydro-Power Plant began in 1963 – the production to this day. In 1972, the Yuzhno-Soleninskoye gas condensate facilities of the Norilsk Combine Plant needed cheap electricity. field was commissioned at the same location. In October 2003, However, the bottom of the reservoir was not cleaned properly the Pelyatkinskoye gas condensate field came into operation. It and, according to ecologists, the flooded larch forests are still comprises eight wells and a powerful gas production infrastruc- emitting phenols. Evenkis in Khantaiskoye Ozero settlement ture on the territory of the Nenets of Taimyr. have no place to go. They drink contaminated water and eat contaminated fish. Moreover, phenols attack the fish immune A new gas pipeline is currently being laid from this field; its length system and so most of them are contaminated with parasites will be nearly 300 kilometers. Officially, the total area of seized (helminths and intestinal worms). and destroyed pastures will amount to 940.73 hectares; in real- ity, this area is going to be three times greater. The gas pipeline Electricity from the Ust-Khantaiskaya HPP is made available to will run through the most productive pastureland. Investment in the Norilsky Combine Plant itself, the people of the cities of No- the gas condensate pipeline construction is thought to amount rilsk, Dudinka and , but not the indigenous peoples. Even to some 16,409,243,000 roubles and yet the project does not the relatively close settlements of Potapovo and Khantaiskoye envisage any compensation for the Nenets reindeer herders. Ozero, populated by Ents, Evenkis and Dolgans, are not con- nected to the HPP’s main transmission line.

3 Business and politics spoon bait sets and other trifles. Two years ago, the company gave 3-5 year-old children metal brandy flasks! Today, OJSC Norilsky Nikel is a universally-recognized leader in the production of nonferrous metals both in Russia and world- wide. The company’s owners are official dollar millionaires, in- The cost of success dividuals highly respected at home and abroad, who take part every year in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In 2010, the magazine “Indigenous Peoples’ World – Living Arc- 2 According to International Financial Reporting Standards the tic” published a report by the Association of Indigenous Small- company’s turnover in 2010 amounted to $12,775 billion, and its Numbered Peoples of Taimyr in which the support from OJSC net profit in the same year came to $3.09 billion. Norilsky Nikel was estimated at two million roubles a year or around US$60,000. The company’s net profit, as already men- In March 2012, the President of OJSC Norilsky Nikel, Andrey Kli- tioned, amounted to US$3.09 billion in 2010. The company eval- shas, became a member of the Council of Federation (the upper uates the long term damage to the indigenous peoples of Taimyr house of parliament), representing Krasnoyarsky Kray. The com- as 0.0054% of its yearly profit. Just how much is that? pany’s protégés occupy the highest positions in the Krasnoyarsky Kray government. Over the years of the Norilsk Combine Plant’s activities, the Nga- nasan and Dolgan living in the central part of Taimyr (Ust-Avam, Volochanka) have lost their traditional way of life, their unique reindeer herding culture, due to the environmental impacts. Rein- Corporate responsibility? deer herding is the basis of the northern nomadic peoples’ cul- ture, which is reflected in their language. Today, their settlements The owners, managers, and protégés of OJSC Norilsky Nikel are full of unemployment, alcohol abuse, suicides, crime and so- consider themselves to be civilized people but they forget that cial orphans. Two years ago, Khantai Evenkis also lost their rein- social corporate responsibility implies respecting the rights of in- deer herding. For the indigenous peoples, losing reindeer is the digenous peoples and local communities, adhere to the principle same as losing face for the Japanese. It is a devastating tragedy. of free, prior and informed consent and paying reparations to the parties that suffer from their activities. The Nenets and Ents – reindeer herders and fishermen living on the banks of rivers and brooks in the areas where gas is ex- However, as of early 2012, no consultations have been carried tracted at the Messoyakha, Pelyatka, Yuzhno-Soleninskoye and out and there has not been a single agreement with any of the Vankor fields – can no longer go fishing because there are practi- communities of Taimyr’s indigenous peoples, there is not a single cally no fish left in those waters. This is the price of the Norilsk agreement in effect with Taimyr’s indigenous peoples’ organisa- Combine Plant’s success since 1935 to this day. tions. There is not a single program of targeted support for these peoples. The managers of OJSC Norilsky Nikel may argue that OJSC Norilsky Nikel’ success is a tragedy for the indigenous peo- support is being provided. And, indeed, it is – but for whom? ples of Taimyr!

The company is currently building an Ice Palace in Dudinka, it helped Vederta Lyrmin repair Dudinka’s swimming pool and, in 2005, it undertook an overall For further information please contact refurbishment of the town’s Fitness Center. However, there are prac- [email protected] tically no indigenous peoples’ representatives in Dudinka

The indigenous peoples also receive something in the context of so-called “patronage”. For example, every year, the company Notes hands out presents to the reindeer herders on Reindeer Herders’ Day. Last year, the most expensive present was a portable diesel 1 http://www.gks.ru/bgd/regl/b11_12/Main.htm generator worth 7 or 8 thousand roubles (US$250). Most often 2 Мир коренных народов – Живая Арктика. http://raipon.info/Doc- the presents are thermos flasks worth 100-150 roubles (US$4), umenty/Biblioteka/24.pdf

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